2010 in review: key health issues

Africa seizes chance against polio

In October, 15 African countries launched a synchronized mass polio immunization campaign to reach 72 million children. About 290 000 vaccinators went door-to-door to deliver two drops of oral polio vaccine to every child under five in areas considered at highest risk of polio transmission.

Despite ongoing efforts however, an outbreak of polio occurred in the Congo, due to imported poliovirus. Several other countries in the WHO European Region experienced the first importation of wild poliovirus since 2002.